


light up your world

by ObscureReference



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Drawing, Light Romance, M/M, Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2018-05-12
Packaged: 2019-05-05 22:38:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14628491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObscureReference/pseuds/ObscureReference
Summary: “There you are, Odin. I—” Lord Leo’s eyes flicked to the space above Odin’s head and grew wide. “What on earth is that?”“The castle,” Odin said absently, excitement bubbling in his ribcage as he sat up and swung his feet over the side of the windowsill to touch the floor again. “Did you have a new mission for me, Lord Leo?”“What? Oh, yes.” Lord Leo sounded distracted. He was staring at the drawing of the castle floating in the air. “Probably. I’ve forgotten what I was going to say now. Did you draw this?”





	light up your world

**Author's Note:**

> I thought about this being like a "5 Times Leo and Niles Were Baffled By Odin's Weird Magic" type thing but I didn't have the energy. I liked the imagery of drawing art in the air, though, so here you go. Plus I like the idea of the Trio having super strength, weird magic, and other strange abilities because of Anankos's gifts. The romance is pretty light, fyi, but I like it.

“Are you certain?” Odin pleaded. “Nothing?

Leo sighed, setting aside his quill. “Yes, Odin. You have my apologies, but truly, there is no task worth your time and attention at this moment.”

“What about things that are beneath my attention?” Odin asked.

Leo gave him an unimpressed look.

Odin squirmed. He always would have preferred to take on the most exciting, daring, impossible jobs available, but after Lord Leo had admitted that he’d made most of those jobs up on the spot and had mostly been giving Odin those tasks to get rid of him, Odin had adjusted his expectations a bit. Especially after Lord Leo had also said he was now withholding those jobs not out of hatred but because he didn’t want to risk Odin so thoughtlessly anymore. Odin understood in a way, which was why he didn’t beg Lord Leo for the _most_ dangerous tasks anymore. But today Odin would have taken even a boring job.

There had been practically nothing all week. That was impressive in itself, but the novelty had worn off and Odin was dying to go outside and _do_ something for once.

He hadn’t always been a mage. He enjoyed a good tome as much as the next person, but he couldn’t sit around and do nothing but read all day. Especially not now that he’d practically combed through all of the castle’s library in the past three days.

Lord Leo pinched the bridge of his nose, sitting up straighter behind his desk. “Odin, I swear, the moment I become aware of an issue worthy of your attention, you will be the first to know. But until then, you should do your best to enjoy your day off like Niles, understood?”

Odin had no idea where Niles even was. If he did, Odin would have likely been off bothering him instead.

His shoulders sagged. “Understood, milord.”

“Then you are dismissed.”

Disappointed and knowing it showed, Odin turned to leave. Lord Leo must have taken pity on him, however, because as Odin walked away, Lord Leo called out after him.

“Odin.”

Odin turned, hopeful. Leo drummed his fingers against the wood of the desk.

“I know it may not be your ideal fantasy of an exciting day,” Lord Leo said. “But peaceful days are meant to be cherished, so I hope you can find some way to enjoy yourself nevertheless.”

Lord Leo glanced down at the paperwork on his desk. Odin suddenly felt guilty about bothering him about taking on more work when Lord Leo still had his own tasks to attend to. Odin nodded, subdued.

“Of course,” he said. “Thank you.”

He glanced over his shoulder as he left and found Lord Leo’s mouth drawn in a tight line as he watched Odin leave, expression contemplative.

 

 

 

Even though he felt guilty about bothering Lord Leo for extra work when Lord Leo did not have the same privilege of freedom, Odin couldn’t help but lament the fact he hadn’t been given a mission in the end. Disappointed and searching for a way to waste the day away, he ended up perched in one of the wide windowsills of the castle halls, legs stretched out so his feet touched one end of the windowsill wall while he laid his back against the stone of the other side.

He bathed in the rare Nohrian sunlight. Dust particles danced in the streams of light that poured in through the window. It was a surprisingly bright day outside for Nohr, but Odin knew he would have had nothing more interested to do out there either. So he stayed where he was.

There was not much else to do to pass the time and Odin did not want to walk all the way back to his room to find one of his journals to write in, so he wrote in the open air instead. He sent a spark of magic to his fingertips and waited for his skin to glow. Then he raised his hand and idly drew images in the air.

Like sparkling fireworks he had once used as a child during a summer festival in Ylisse, the streaks of light Odin drew lingered in the air like an afterimage. Unlike those sparkling fireworks, however, the light did not disappear immediately. It lingered like an old memory until Odin waved it away.

He drew different pictures in the air. Here a golden star, there a blue crescent moon. He drew his old sword Missiletainn and his mother’s stave. He drew a map of Hoshido from memory, as well as battle strategies from the war meetings. Odin was no real artist, so he sprinkled in some words here and there, just to see what they looked like—Words like _Castle Krakenburg_ , _Lord Leo_ , _Odin Dark_ , _Windmire_. He didn’t dare write any names from Ylisse, city or person. When he ran out of space above his head and his arm could reach nor farther, he swiped his hand through the light to wipe it all away and started over.

He heard footsteps approaching and recognized them as Lord Leo’s right as he was putting the finishing flourish on his rendition of Castle Krakenburg. The actual castle, not the name. Odin drew in dark purples and blues above his head, his neck beginning to ache from the angle. He connected the last flag to one of the towers just as Lord Leo rounded the corner.

“There you are, Odin. I—” Lord Leo’s eyes flicked to the space above Odin’s head and grew wide. “What on earth is that?”

“The castle,” Odin said absently, excitement bubbling in his rib cage as he sat up and swung his feet over the side of the windowsill to touch the floor again. “Did you have a new mission for me, Lord Leo?”

“What? Oh, yes.” Lord Leo sounded distracted. He was staring at the drawing of the castle floating in the air. “Probably. I’ve forgotten what I was going to say now. Did you draw this?”

Odin jumped to his feet and into Lord Leo’s space, searching for any sign of nefarious curses having been recently cast. “You’ve forgotten? But our eagle-eyed lord forgets naught but the countless number of foes crushed underfoot! And only because they are uncountable! Have you been bespelled by some kind of dastardly curse?” He gasped. “Or perhaps this is a part of the sacred mission you have decided to place me on. A mission of most secret and forbidden knowledge. Fret not, Lord Leo, for I will uncover the unspeakable secrets marking this mystery and uncover the knowledge so forbidden that even you are not allowed to recall its visage!”

“That’s very nice, thank you,” Lord Leo said absently.

Odin deflated. He got the feeling Lord Leo hadn’t heard a word he’d said.  

“Did you draw that?” Lord Leo asked suddenly, pointing at the Castle Krakenburg drawing that still hovered over the windowsill.

Without Odin’s concentrating on it, he could feel the magic beginning to waver slowly. The castle sat intact in the air, but he could feel it slowly beginning to fade.

“Huh?” He didn’t get why Lord Leo was so focused on his drawing, but if Lord Leo wanted to know, Odin would tell him. “Yeah, why? Is something wrong?”

“Not at all,” Lord Leo said. He finally tore his eyes away from the light and looked at Odin again. “What spell did you use for that? I don’t see you carrying a tome.”

“Tome?” Odin frowned. “We’re not in battle, milord.”

Lord Leo looked confused. “Excuse me?”

Odin’s frown deepened.

“Why would I need a tome if we’re not in battle?” Odin said, knowing surely Lord Leo must have known this already. Tomes were helpful, but you didn’t need them for every little thing. “It’s just a little spell.”

“Ah, I see now,” Lord Leo said, sounding confident. “So this is part of a ritual you performed earlier.”

Odin cocked his head. Who had mentioned a ritual?

“Of course not,” he said simply, feeling a bit surprised. Lord Leo looked just as startled. “It’s easy.”

He held up his hand to show Lord Leo, the magic still concentrated there. A faint blue light glowed from under Odin’s skin, waiting to be dismissed. Like he’d told Lord Leo, it was only a small spell. It didn’t take much energy to direct his magic into his hand and turn it into light. He’d done it a few times before since arriving in Nohr as an idle way to pass the time.

He said as much to Lord Leo.

“I’m just directing my magic to my hand. Here, see?” His finger glowed brighter and them dimmed as Odin both increased and decreased the flow of magic to that specific area. “I’m sure you could do it if you wanted.”

Lord Leo looked at his own palm for a moment, eyebrows furrowed, but Odin could see no change in color or increased magic under the skin. After a moment, he looked up at Odin, dropping his hand.

“Will you show me how it works?” Lord Leo asked.

Odin felt startled again—it was only simple magic, nothing more—but of course he did as he was asked. He drew a book in the air—two small rectangles connected by a few simple lines. A squiggle indicated a messy title. When Odin was finished, he looked up to see Lord Leo looking at him in surprise.

“Are you alright, my lord?” Odin asked.

Lord Leo shook his head. “I’ve never seen any mage wield magic like this before.”

Odin blinked.

“I doubt it could be used for much besides idle tomfoolery,” he said, feeling slightly embarrassed for no real reason.

“Yes, but the potential alone…” It sounded as though Lord Leo was thinking about the possibilities. Odin had never considered using his simple light spell for anything more before. Of course Lord Leo was brilliant enough to be thinking of the future, however. “Would you mind teaching me sometime?”

“Of course not!” Odin said quickly. “Anything I can do for you, milord, you need only ask. It will be done in an instant.”

Lord Leo nodded, grateful. “Thank you. Where did you say you learned this spell?”

Again, Odin frowned in mild surprise. He said, “Nobody taught me. It’s simply natural.”

He wasn’t bragging. It just was.

Lord Leo stared. Couldn’t he feel the natural ebb and flow of magic within his body like Odin could? Wasn’t that only natural for a mage?

Then again, Odin didn't think he’d ever been so aware of magic before he’d been brought to Nohr by the human Anankos and gifted new abilities. Perhaps that awareness was a side effect of that gift, he thought.

“You’re quite amazing,” Lord Leo said, sounding somewhat awed. “Did you know that?”

Now that he was focused more on Lord Leo than the magic, Odin could feel the glow of the castle and book in the air beginning to fade even faster.

He looked at Lord Leo. “The daring and delightful escapades of Odin Dark are known far and wide across the land, milord, but whatever have I done to please you so this time?”

It couldn’t have been a simple light trick that had Lord Leo so impressed. Not after all the battles he’d seen Lord Leo triumph over, after all the incredible feats of magic Lord Leo had performed using his legendary magic tome of old.

And yet Odin saw that Lord Leo appeared delighted as the last of the lights faded from the open air. He smiled at Odin when they were gone.

“You never cease to surprise me,” Lord Leo said.

Odin liked the look on his face, the gentle curve of his lip in the soft light.

He grinned back. “Thank you, Lord Leo.”

Lord Leo glanced at the window, out at the setting sun.

“Would you mind teaching me now?” he asked. “Now that I’ve finished with my immediate work, I believe we both have some time. If you’re willing, of course.”

Part of Odin remembered the possibility of being given a new mission to attend to, but suddenly spending time with Lord Leo seemed much more appealing.

“Of course,” Odin said. “Would you like to sit down?” He gestured toward the windowsill.

They both sat down. There was plenty of room to fit both of them, but Odin and Lord Leo ended up sitting shoulder to shoulder anyway. Odin nearly opened his mouth to speak when he felt something heavy on his fingers. He glanced down to see Lord Leo’s hand gently resting on top of his own. Odin’s mouth went dry.

He looked back up. Lord Leo was looking at him, waiting for Odin to begin his lesson, but he either hadn’t noticed or didn’t seem to care that he was practically holding Odin’s hand.

The glow of magic flared up under Odin’s fingertip again, rosy red this time.

He cleared his throat. Lord Leo’s curious gaze suddenly felt heavy.

“So,” he began, lifting the hand Lord Leo wasn’t currently holding. “You begin like this.”

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to leave a comment below or hit me up on my [tumblr!](http://someobscurereference.tumblr.com/) I get a lot of FE14 meta and fic related asks there, so feel free to browse through my "asks" or "fe14" tag for some extra stuff from me and your fellow readers you may not see over here. Or send in a question of your own if you had one! Thanks for reading!


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